How many times have you asked someone to do something like “draw up a plan for such and such project”? Your employee completes plan, but then you say, “That is not what I wanted” or “That is not how you do it”. And so employee thinks: you didn’t tell me exactly how you wanted it done.

If you find yourself having back and forth misunderstandings with your employees, then you might have a communication problem. And this could be creating bad feelings, low morale and inefficiencies. To remedy this, perhaps it’s time you thought about creating a Policies and Procedures Manual.

Let’s look at 7 methods to strengthen communication and performance.

1. Implement Effective Policies and Procedures

A Policies and Procedures Manual is a communication tool designed to empower employers, managers and employees with a consistent approach to accomplishing their daily tasks. It provides a set of policies, plans, reports, forms, and work routines that convey pulse of organization.

A properly developed manual focuses your everyday business communications between employees and management on what is really important to get job done. This focus is first step in empowering your employees. Empowerment requires a shared vision, communication of necessary information and adequate training.

2. Convey Management Policy and Vision

A manual should be used to communicate both corporate policies and appropriate procedures for implementation of policy in a combined style format. If employees know vision, then they feel confident to make decisions. Keep in mind, though, policies should not be confused with procedures.

Policy - A definite course or method of action to guide and determine present and future decisions. A policy is a guide to decision-making under a given set of circumstances within framework of corporate objectives, goals and management philosophies.

Procedure - A particular way of accomplishing something, or an established way of doing things. A procedure is a series of steps followed in a definite regular order that ensure consistent and repetitive approach to actions.

3. Improve Communications and Efficiently Run Operations

It’s hard to know which does more damage, having a bad leader or having no leader at all. Boards feel an urgency to fill leadership vacuum. But appointing wrong CEO leads to organizational instability, loss of key individuals, lowered morale and poor execution. Two or more failures in a row can send a company into an irreversible tailspin. Complex emotional and political dynamics along with ever-present time constraints complicate and slow selection process. Boards can shift odds in their favor by increasing objectivity during senior leadership selection. Regardless whether an internal or external candidate is called for, using an unbiased, independent consultant as part of selection process provides boards with a way to increase their chances for a better “fit.” First -- Determine What’s Needed Before even initiating a search, committee needs to ask, “What do we need now in a CEO and what are we likely to need in future? What are competencies that already exist in our senior leadership and where are gaps?” “Do we need someone adept at furthering our leadership development program or do we need someone with a track record of successfully integrating differing cultures?” It goes without saying that more precisely you can define your company’s current and projected needs for next 5 years, better. While this seems obvious, it’s striking how many search committees look at candidates first, then go back and determine whose competencies best mesh with company needs. When directors determine criteria initially, they are in a position to drive succession process. Otherwise they are likely to be led by others who have a vested interest.

A complete analysis of company needs considers existing strengths of senior management, current operating environment and strategic framework for future growth. Boards today, pressured as they are with governance and compliance, report having less time to devote to succession preparation.

An independent consultant -- with no vested interest or preconceived formula -- helps board members compress time required to conduct this analysis. The consultant then has firsthand knowledge of nuances of business and can assist with objectively evaluating “fit” of candidates.

External Search Obstacles The executive search industry is a relatively small field, and nature of business is to opt for known commodities. “Star players,” culled from highly visible senior positions, appear and reappear on recruiters’ short lists. Yet hiring a “star” is a poor predictor of success.

Leadership success is highly dependent on context. Without right “fit” executives who thrive in one company may flounder in next. Note recent failure of several CEOs recruited from top ranks of GE – a company lauded as a leadership incubator. These candidates not only offer no guarantee of success, but also frequently require large incentives and guarantees regardless of their performance.